//------------------------------// // 5 - Sick day // Story: Graph Theory // by stillinbeta //------------------------------// Twilight Sparkle stepped through the mirror and arrived in front of Canterlot High. To her credit she did not immediately double over, faint, or even trip. She landed gingerly on her feet, taking the hand offered to her by Sunset Shimmer. Not that she needed the hand for balance. She was an expert in portal travel. She just liked holding her marefriend’s hand. Twilight leaned in to give Sunset a quick peck but the girl held up a hand, stopping her. “Just so you know Princess, I’m starting to feel a bit under the weather. I don’t want to get you sick.” “I don’t even think I can get sick, Sunset. Ever since I ascended, I haven’t had so much as a head cold. Whatever you’ve got, I’m sure I’ll be fine.” “Healthy as a horse, then?” Sunset teased. Twilight stuck her tongue out. “Then again, maybe I don’t want to kiss my mean marefriend. Who is, if she remembers, also a pony?” “Oh, come here you.” Sunset planted a tender kiss on Twilight’s lips while pulling her into a tight hug. “So what’s the plan for tonight?” “Fluttershy’s waiting for us at the movies.” Sunset pulled out her phone. “There’s a bus in two minutes, come on!” “I’m definitely sick,” Twilight announced. It was less of an announcement, actually, and more of a croak. Between the sore throat, stuffy nose, and throbbing headache, Twilight wasn’t exactly making use of the Royal Canterlot Voice. “Twilight, not so loud,” moaned a very green-looking Fluttershy to her left. “Girls, I’m trying to sleep,” mumbled Sunset Shimmer to her right. Sunset was facing away from Twilight, but the stuffiness was obvious in the girl’s voice. Her too, then. Fluttershy let out a racking cough. Sunset whimpered on the other side and tunneled her way under the pillow she had been sharing with Twilight. Suddenly aware of just how desperately dry her throat was, Twilight clumsily extricated herself from her spot in the middle of the bed and stumbled towards the kitchen. A glass found its way into her hand, then under the tap. Most of the water even made it to her mouth. Another loud cough came from the bedroom, making Twilight’s head throb. Poor Fluttershy. Twilight poured herself another glass, trying to remember what little she knew about human physiology. Water was good right? That much had to be the same for ponies and people. Fluids and bed rest. Bed. Twilight, still bleary-eyed, made her way back to the bedroom. Unfortunately for her, the two sleeping girls had usurped her usual spot. A thicket of limbs and hair made reclaiming it almost impossible. Sunset’s bed was barely big enough for the three of them when they were all cooperating. Giving one last longing look at the bed, Twilight turned her attention to the lumpy couch in Sunset’s living room. It wasn’t much, but it had a blanket, and Twilight wasn’t really sure she could manage to stand up for much longer than she already had. She teetered dangerously over to the couch, fell over, and managed to wrap herself in the thin blanket before passing out once more. Daybreaker cackled, arcs of plasma shooting off of her towards the assembled Elements of Harmony. Twilight could feel the room outside heating up dangerously, even through the shield spell she was desperately trying to keep around her friends. The sun burned in the sky, red and hot, a horrible caricature of the calm yellow star that usually hung in its place. “Celestia, please! You don’t have to do this!” Twilight shouted. The roar of the blaze consuming Canterlot Castle nearly drowned her out. Molten slag fell in sheets from the remains of the windows. Twilight tried not to think of the destruction that now rained down on the rest Canterlot and all of Equestria. “Listen to her, Sister!” Luna was sweating inside her own bubble of protection. “Please, do not give in! I know what lies down this path, and it will not bring you the solace you desire!” The mare that had been Celestia cackled again, but this sounded... different. Gone was the bravado, the confidence, the raw power. In its place was... beeping? Twilight desperately held onto her concentration, but her vision swam. She felt herself lose control of the bubble, and... She opened her eyes. Her friends were gone and Celestia was nowhere to be found. The castle looked unfamiliar, more like a small apartment than a palace. Almost like... Sunset’s place. She was under a blanket, soaked in sweat. The beeping was Fluttershy’s phone, telling her to get ready for work. Miscellaneous grumblings emanated from the bedroom. A dull “thunk” was probably the phone being knocked onto the floor. A shaking sound meant Fluttershy’s hormones had followed it. Some fumbling, a mumbled curse, a quiet squeak, and the beeping stopped. “Shy, don’t go, yer warm.” Sunset grumbled. “Sunset I have to go to...” Fluttershy cut herself off with a hacking cough. “Work.” “Nopony’s going anywhere,” Sunset mumbled. “Sick day.” “I think Sleepyset’s got the right idea, Shy,” Twilight called from the couch. She wasn’t completely sure where she was, but she was pretty sure nobody was in any shape to go out today. Daybreaker might be out there, after all. “I can’t miss work. I feel fine.” Even though Fluttershy’s usually whisper-quiet voice Twilight could tell she wasn’t. “Come on Shy, I can hear how stuffed up you are from here. Your boss won’t want you to come in with a cough like yours either.” “I don’t think any of us should go anywhere today.” Sunset was slowly waking up, it seemed. If Twilight lifted her head, she could probably carry on the conversation a bit better. The couch was so comfy though, and the blanket was nice and warm. Plus she wasn’t entirely sure if Celestia still needed her help. She laid back down on her makeshift bed, her vision swimming. Behind her, she heard half a whispered phone conversation. “Um, hi, is Blossom there? “Hi Blossom, It’s Fluttershy. I’m very very sorry, but I think I’m too sick to come into work today. “No, nothing like that. I think it might be a kind of flu? “Yes, thank you so much. I think I can come in then. Thank you” “Good on ya, Shy.” Sunset mumbled from next to her. Probably through a pillow, from how muffled it sounded. The two of them said some other things, but Twilight felt her concentration slipping. Something important was missing. She was sure of it, but sleep sounded so nice, so she closed her eyes... Twilight stood alone, opposite Daybreaker on what could only be the surface of the sun itself. It was impossibly hot and Twilight knew the flimsy shield she had summoned could only last so long against the inferno. Tendrils of white-hot plasma reached up from the heliosphere to smack at her. It was only a matter of time before her little lavender bubble of safety popped under the pressure. Tears streamed down her cheeks only to turn to steam in the unrelenting heat. Twilight knew her power was no match for Celestia, After all, she wasn’t Princess of Battlemagic or Warfare. “Celestia please, it’s me, Twilight. Your faithful student?” Daybreaker faltered, an arc of plasma halting and falling back down to the incandescent star below. “I know you’re upset but this isn’t you. You don’t hurt ponies. You’re my friend. You’ve been my friend since before I knew what that meant, and this isn’t how things are supposed to end.” Daybreaker took a step forward and Twilight shrunk back in her protective sphere. Slowly and deliberately the alicorn made her way to Twilight. She wasn’t proud of it, but Twilight was too scared to say anything further. She concentrated her energy on keeping her shield up, but when Daybreaker advanced her hooves passed through the bubble as if there was nothing there. Twilight braced herself for the worst, but instead the other mare reached out a hoof and gently felt Twilight’s forehead. “You’re burning up,” Daybreaker announced in a voice that wasn’t Celestia’s. Red and yellow hair bobbed on her head as she withdrew her hoof. Wait, Red and yellow? But Daybreaker was... Twilight’s eyes snapped open. Sunset was standing over her, next to a very concerned Fluttershy. She was back in Sunset’s apartment. “What?” Twilight struggled to deal with the sudden scene change. Was this a trick? Which scene was the true one? “You have a fever, Twilight.” Fluttershy looked really worried. “Are you feeling okay?” Fevered dreams were as plausible an explanation for her current state as anything. “Having... weird dreams,” Twilight mumbled. “Oh you poor thing. Here, drink this.” Fluttershy handed (not hoofed, Twilight noted) her a glass of water. Swallowing hurt a little but Twilight managed to get a couple gulps of water down. A lot of the the water ended up on her shirt, but that was okay. Fluttershy busied herself rearranging the pillows and blankets around Twilight. “Sunset, can you grab me a damp washcloth? And some more water.” Sunset headed for what was probably the washroom. It was hard to be sure. The sound of running water certainly supported that theory. Twilight knew her eyes were open but her vision kept swimming. Maybe it was swimming through the water Sunset was pouring? That made sense. Twilight giggled. Fluttershy looked concerned for some reason. Maybe she didn’t get the joke? She tried to open her mouth and explain, but her throat was sore, and she thought better of it. Another glass was presented to her. This time Twilight managed to sit up a little bit. Most of the water made it down her throat and swallowing got easier as she drained the glass. A cool wetness placed itself upon her forehead. Twilight shrunk back but a very patient Fluttershy gently pushed mussed purple hair out of the way and the washcloth was returned. “There, doesn’t this feel nice?” Fluttershy asked Her voice was unmistakable. It soothed Twilight almost as much as the water. “I found some cough syrup too. Should we give her that?” Sunset’s voice wasn’t quite as dulcet as Fluttershy’s but it was just as reassuring. Twilight couldn’t help but smile. “Twilight, we’re going to give you some medicine. I think it’ll make you feel better,” Fluttershy poured something from a bottle into a tiny cup and handed it to Twilight. Twilight took the offered vial and scrutinised it. It contained a viscous, reddish liquid that smelled strongly of... something. It reminder her of Pinkie’s more “experimental” concoctions and she grimaced. “It’ll make you feel better, I promise. I know it tastes weird, but it’s very important that you drink it.” Fluttershy’s voice was still soft, but it was clear that this wasn’t a suggestion. Being unable to speak made it tough to argue, so Twilight begrudgingly took the cup and downed it. At this point, Twilight wasn’t convinced this wasn’t some trick of the mind by Daybreaker to wear down her defenses. If so, though, it was a pretty unusual way of doing so. Usually villains tried to isolate her from her friends or hold them hostage. Instead, she could feel the love from her friends making her stronger... or maybe that was just the cough syrup. Either way, her eyelids grew heavier. She really hoped this was reality and Daybreaker was just a dream. It was nice here. Twilight opened her eyes and to her relief Sunset’s apartment came back into view. Vague memories of a despondent and remorseful Celestia sobbing into Luna’s mane faded away. In their place was the familiar furniture, bookshelves, and... oh wow was it bright. “Ughhh,” Twilight moaned. Maybe it wasn’t too late to go back to sleep. “You awake, Princess?” Sunset called from the kitchen. She walked over to the couch holding another glass of water. “I’m pretty sure. You’re real right?” Twilight asked. She was pretty sure this was a joke at this point. Pretty sure. “As far as I know,” Sunset laughed. “You wanna pinch me just to be sure?” “This’ll do.” Twilight reached out and gave Sunset’s hand a squeeze. “Feels real to me.” Sunset gave Twilight a little peck on the head. “Love you too, Princess.” “Speaking of which, where’s Fluttershy?” Twilight wasn’t quite ready to lever herself up to look around. “Fast asleep. Passed out a little after you did.” “Oh, okay.” Twilight lowered her voice to a whisper. “She got really maternal when I noticed you had a fever. It was pretty cute. Usually I only see her get like that around wounded animals.” Twilight grinned. “Well, we are ponies...” Sunset gave a laugh that sounded suspiciously like a whinny. Twilight did her best not to crack up. Laughing would probably still hurt. “How are you feeling, anyway?” Sunset placed her hand on Twilight’s forehead. “Feels like your fever’s breaking, at least.” “I feel like someone hit my horn with a hammer, but I think I’m on the mend.” “You know you don’t have a horn right now, right?” A more lively Twilight might have tossed a pillow. This one just rolled her eyes. “It sure feels like I do.” “So much for ‘I’m an all-powerful alicorn and don’t get sick,’ huh?” Sunset wedged herself onto the couch underneath Twilight’s feet. “Is this the part where you say ‘I told you so?’” Twilight groaned. She added a few coughs, to be extra pitiful. “I was gonna say we still have a lot to learn about the portal, but I guess that works too.” Sunset grinned at Twilight mustered the best smile she could while in the throes of some awful human flu. It was the thought that counted, after all. “Have you thought about just going home? Maybe your alicorn-ness will just, y’know, cure you.” Twilight pulled the blanket tighter around herself. “Would I have to get off this couch?” Sunset rubbed her chin. “Hmm, maybe I could call Applejack and Rainbow and we could carry you through.” “That could work. I wonder if the couch would fit on the bus?” “Probably not. We’d just have to carry you all the way there. In the heat of summer. We’d probably get all sweaty...” Twilight groaned and turned over. “Sunset I love you but this isn’t the time.” Sunset gave what was probably supposed to be a laugh but rapidly descended into coughing. “Fair enough.” “Going back is probably a bad idea, anyway. We have absolutely no idea what the portal would do to this virus, or whatever it is” This got Sunset’s attention. “You think it’d mutate into some sort of super pony flu?” “It could mutate the pathogen, it could eliminate it entirely, it could turn me into some weird half-virus hybrid...” Twilight shuddered. “Really?” “Probably not. But I don’t want to find out.” “I guess it’s about time one of us establishes the field of trans-dimensional epidemiology.” Sunset leaned back on the couch and shut her eyes. “Do you want your name to be first on the paper this time?” Twilight asked, only half sarcastically. Research papers were very serious. Even if nobody but Celestia would ever be allowed to read them. “Nah, I got first billing on the last one. It’s your turn,” Sunset said with equal seriousness. “Once I can stand up without the room spinning I’ll get right on that.” Sunset massaged her temples. “No argument here.” Twilight was silently laying out a bibliography in her head when a quiet yawn from the bedroom caught her attention. Sunset had apparently heard it too.  “You okay in there, Shy?” Dating Fluttershy really sharpened your hearing. A mumble that probably meant “water” answered her. Twilight made a motion of getting up but Sunset was faster. “No way, Princess. You’ve got it the worst out of all of us. I’ll take care of Shy.” Twilight felt she should protest, just to be polite, but in fact just sitting up had made her kind of dizzy. Instead she just mumbled her thanks and slowly laid her head back down. When Twilight next came to, it was dark outside. A quick glance at the clock told her she’d been out for almost five hours. Being a sick human was apparently very tiring work. Whatever dreams she had faded quickly, but thankfully they were Daybreaker free. Twilight stretched, working out a couple of the kinks from curling up on a couch for hours. Another problem ponies didn’t have. She noticed her headache was gone. Perhaps she could head home soon. “Good morning, Sleepyhead!” Sunset called from the kitchen. “Want some curry?” Of course there was no rush. Her castle definitely didn’t have curry. “Yes, please!” “Should I bring it over?” Fluttershy asked. She was up too, then. “No, I think I can get up now.” Twilight arched her back, catlike, and was rewarded with a satisfying crack. She went to stand up and immediately regretted it. A pounding headache and bout of dizziness almost toppled her, forcing her to grab the couch for balance. Fluttershy and Sunset rushed to her side, the former carrying a glass of water. Twilight grinned sheepishly. “Or... not.” “Why don’t you lay back down, Twilight.” Fluttershy offered the glass to Twilight, who graciously accepted it. “I'll put your curry in the fridge,” Sunset added. She headed back to the kitchen, leaving Twilight alone with a concerned-looking Fluttershy. “Thank you, Shy,” Twilight said with what she hoped wasn’t a croak. She downed the glass of water just in case. “How are you feeling?” “Oh, I’m fine. Don’t you worry.” Fluttershy took the now-empty glass and set it on the coffee table. She sat down next to the once again horizontal Twilight. “That’s good. You sounded kinda out of it this morning.” “It sounded worse than it was. Just a scratchy throat.” Fluttershy fidgeted with her hair. “I was kind of worried about you, though. You were talking to, um, Princess Celestia.” “Oh, was that out loud?” Fluttershy nodded sheepishly. “That was nothing. Just a bad dream.” “That’s good. I, uh, don’t know how your magic works. I was worried something was actually wrong.” “Well, dreams do have some magic to them. Princess Luna of my world can actually enter them and dispel nightmares, and once this creature called the Tantabus...” Twilight trailed off as she noticed the fear creeping into Fluttershy’s face. She hastily continued, “But I’m pretty sure this was just a fever dream.” “That’s good, I guess.” Fluttershy sounded unsure, but didn’t press the issue. “Sunset said you were taking care of me while I was out,” Twilight said, eager to change the subject. Fluttershy quickly retreated behind her hair.  “Oh, it was nothing.” “It didn’t sound like nothing. I really appreciate it.” “Eeep,” said the wall of pink hair. “I mean it! If I have to be sick, I’m glad it was with you two.” Twilight gave a smile she hoped Fluttershy could see through her hair. She must’ve because she reached down under the blankets squeezed Twilight’s hand. Fluttershy’s other hand brushed her hair to the side. “I love you, Twilight.” Twilight squeezed Fluttershy’s. “Love you too.” Sunset, who had a remarkable talent for staying out of the way but still within earshot of these romantic moments, chose then to re-enter the living room. “Love you two too. Though you know it’s probably Fluttershy’s fault you’re sick.” Twilight cocked an eyebrow. “What makes you say that?” Fluttershy looked very intently at her feet. “Rainbow had the flu last week.” “Oh. I guess that makes sense.” Twilight frowned. “Do poly people get sick a lot, then?” “They don’t exactly write that in the pamphlets, but yeah,” Sunset admitted. “I think it’s worth it though.” Twilight risked propping herself up enough to give them both a peck on the cheek. “Definitely.”